NHL cancels games through Dec. 30

At some point in the coming weeks, National Hockey League owners and players will have to decide if there will be a repeat of 1994-95 or 2004-05.

Lockouts defined those NHL years as the current labor battle is doing this one. So are game cancellations and the latest occurred Monday as the league wiped out another 104 games through Dec. 30.

The running cancellation total is now 526 regular-season contests in addition to the Winter Classic on Jan. 1 and the NHL All-Star game. The Ducks have now lost 35 games, including 17 home dates. The Kings have lost 37 in all, 19 of them at home.

It is clear that the NHL is leaving open for now the possibility of starting the season either on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day but the only chance of that happening is if the league and players' union immediately get back to the negotiating table after last week's dramatic collapse of talks.

A 50-game season and full postseason could take place if the sides get a deal done by next week. Looking at the latest proposals from the owners and players, it would seem that they really aren't that far apart now on the major details and that there is room for compromise.

Then again, we all thought that weeks ago. The NHL will soon need to decide whether to mirror the 48-game 1994-95 season or the 0-game 2004-05 season. Commissioner Gary Bettman said last week that there is no drop deadline on when a new labor deal is needed for the former but you can bet that he'll be announcing one soon if neither side is willing to blink.

If a season does take place, it figures to have a completely re-done schedule that'll likely be limited to teams playing games within their own conference — which was the case in 1994-95. Bettman said that he can't envision one working with fewer than 48 games.

The 1995 lockout ended on Jan. 11 and that season began nine days later. It would figure that once a labor agreement was made and signed, it would take two or three days for players – especially those overseas — to return to their NHL teams and a week of training camp needed before any games were to be played.

The lockout has had a tremendous cost that owners and players seem willing to continue bearing, from lost salary and the dreaded hockey-related revenue to less foot traffic and fewer patrons for the businesses around the Honda Center, Staples Center and other NHL arenas.

The people feeling it the most, however, are the game-night arena workers whose jobs either help make ends meet or in some cases might be their only source of income.

And then there are the fans. There may be fewer in numbers — at least in the United States — than football or baseball but there may be none that are more passionate about their sport. They'll come back because they love the game and sports are always a welcome distraction. Or will they?